Tom Hardiman, Keeper & Executive Director
For many years now I have reported that the past year was remarkably successful, but the coming year looks precarious. For once, I am going to tempt fate and report that last year was remarkably successful and the coming year looks to be even better. The reason for my new-found optimism is you, our members. We start a new year with an all-time high membership: 400 Proprietors, 98 Subscribers, 82 Friends and about a dozen new applications in process. When you are a membership library, a growing and engaged membership is ample reason for optimism.
Part of that success might be the record number of programs we had in 2024, up 50% in the last decade. Programs included the amazing concert series put on by the ArtsAthenaeum Performance committee, which entertained record numbers of music lovers and revived its poetry series. ArtsAthenaeum Exhibits fielded a blockbuster display on the 100th anniversary of the NH Presidential Primary. Our history lecture series filled the room 7 times with outstanding lectures. We initiated a new Current Affairs series that also filled the room. In addition to that, we had a number of ad-hoc programs including not one, but two amazing talks on the history of science by the inimitable Fred Schubert.
The increased volume of offerings is the product of the board’s strategic planning process and surveys of our growing membership about what they value and would like to see here. None of this vibrant activity would be possible without the incredible contribution of dedicated volunteers and staff. I am blessed to have the best staff I have had in 25 years as your Keeper. The core staff of Stephanie, Robin, James, Katy, June, and Susan raise the level of what is possible for library staff every day. We have just added two new staff members: Jessica McClain, our Research Librarian and Cataloger; and Sharon Nichols, our energetic Program and Volunteer Manager. Jessica is already a stand out with her monthly book reviews and, if you haven’t already heard from Sharon about volunteering, I promise that you will. We have also completed a 3-year program to get all of our team members up to a competitive salary rate. One special note is that this is Robin’s 30th year with the Athenaeum. I hope that you will all thank her for the amazing work that she continues to do for us.
You have probably noticed a number of major building improvements in the past year, from fully restored windows in the 1805 building to a level front step. The building committee also did a major clean-out and systems upgrade in the Foye basement, greatly increasing the safety of the people who work there.
One of the sad parts about having worked here for so many years is that at my first annual meeting, I didn’t know anyone in the Memorial list; now I know them all, many of them good friends. Last month I wrote about always feeling like the dumbest guy in the room when I am in the Athenaeum and growing to embrace that. Last year we lost some of the smartest people I have ever met. I could say something admirable about each of them, but I would like to single out Wes DeVries. Wes never finished college, but was an insatiable learner. He ran one of the most successful marketing firms in the country. For years, nearly every morning when I came to work, Wes was in the Reading Room devouring the newspaper. He would tell me about the book he read the night before, which could have been history, science, economics, or religion; he was indiscriminately curious. If I knew the book, we would have a good discussion about it. He would recommend books to me and I to him, then we would compare notes. He was a fellow-traveller. We never shared a meal, or even a coffee together, but we had exactly the kind of relationship that this place was designed to foster, and I am far better for it. You should give it a try.